Most important source of water for public water supply is from

Concept:

The whole process of supplying water to public is necessarily comprised of three main parts:

a) Collection of raw water from a water source.

b) Treatment of the raw water to make it usable, consumable and drinkable.

c) Distribution of treated water to public.

The good criteria for a water source is that there should be continuous and large supply of the raw water and the self-cleansing capacity of the source should be as more as possible.

In case of lakes and ponds, there is limited quantity of water available and there is no continuous supply of water and also due to stagnation of water, impurities and organic bacteria is more in these water source, so the treatment cost is more. That’s why these kind of water sources are not preferred.

In case of streams and narrow channels, water supply may be continuous but the self-cleansing capacity is not very good. So the treatment cost is more. That’s why these kind of water sources are not preferred.

In case of rivers, main advantage is that the water supply is continuous. Also due to current in the rivers proper dilution and mixing of impurities with the river water is ensured. So, the treatment cost is low compared to others

∴ Rivers are the most preferred and most important source for public water supply.

Important Point: